“An incident involving a US Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet, which departed from RAF Lakenheath, occurred at about 11am today near Littleport, United Kingdom,” it said in a statement.

“Response efforts are under way and the incident is currently under investigation. More information will be released as it becomes available,” it added.

‘All hell broke loose’

Local witness Patrick Turner, 72, of Redmere said he heard an aircraft, then all of a sudden “all hell broke loose.”

“I was outside in my shed and heard an aircraft coming over. All of a sudden all hell broke loose. The noise was terrible – I’ve never heard that before. I looked up to the sky but it was so foggy that I couldn’t see anything,” he told Cambridge News.

Another witness, named as Mr Turner, said he saw a “massive fireball.”